Protective collars, often called “Elizabethan” collars in view of the appearance that some have when in place, have long been used in veterinary medicine to protect against contact between an animal's head and other parts of its body. The collars are used, for instance, after surgery to prevent an animal from biting or chewing at dressings or areas below its neck, or from pawing or scratching at dressings or areas on or about its head.
Frequently such collars have taken the general form of truncated cones. Such collars have been closed and thereby retained in place around the animal's neck by such things as interlocking tabs, snaps, lacing, staples, and the like. Such collars frequently need to be offered in a variety of sizes or size ranges to accommodate animals of various sizes, and the effective size range of a particular collar is often limited by the closure mechanism used. Such closure mechanisms are also frequently cumbersome and time-consuming to use.
Examples of such collars include “Buster” disposable collars as shown by way of example in WO 95/22891.
Other devices along these lines have been described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,013,530, 3,072,098, 3,036,554, 3,942,306, 4,328,605, 4,476,814 and 8,181,609.
What is needed is a collar that is quickly, easily, and accurately fittable and removable in a manner that will not cause trauma to the animal.